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Interesting . . . you never really know what your neighbor is burning too ?
I agree with the poster that says ,
As for why you are getting smoke. Could be one of a couple of things. The 3 possibilities that come immediately to my mind are 1) particular weather effect that causes a downdraft and may be aided by vegetation or other structures "blocking" the emissions to keep them from diffusing. 2) the neighbors may have a structural issue with their chimney cap and 3) you are particularly sensetive to the smell of smoke. It is not unusual to smell a little smoke when folks have their fires going. It is unusual for it to be intense.
Could it be possible that your cold chimney flue is drawing the exhaust down into your fireplace ?
I don't know how colse you are to your neighbor , But I have seen this happen, but mostly when the flues are close together , like in buildings in Manhattan where you can have 10 flues across .
What you can do is make your neighbors aware of the fact that fireplaces are the most inneficient way to heat one's home. The room they are in is the only room that actually gets warm, while the rest of the house ends up sucking in air from outside to "feed" the fire. What you end up with is less oxygen, toxic fumes, polluted neighborhood. Also, any yellow flame is indicative of incomplete cumbustion, which means that Carbon Monoxide is being released, which actively kills off your brain cells. Sure, you can say that's an exaggeration, or i'm "over-reacting" but that's what cigarette smokers used to say not too long ago, until the majority of the public came to their senses and finally put smokers in their place in many major US cities. Sometimes you have to wait for society to evolve I guess... *shrug*. I suggest you try this approach and talk to others to raise awareness.... Some people are going to tell you that you're being selfish, but if you focus on the inadequacy of the system to begin with you'll have a stronger case.
I totally agree--I HATE the smell of smoke from FPs coming in my house. And yes, it happens A LOT. My house is sealed tight and we hate to go outside or even open the doors because of the smoke, but because our heat pump is outside and draws the air to heat our home, the smoke smell seeps in still! It's disgusting. I definitely think Fireplaces burning wood, etc. should be banned in residential areas! Especially with idiots like my neighbors who burn anything--I know sometimes they even burn treated wood, wet wood, plastic, anything in their fireplace! Heck no, freeze to death or get gas/electric/solar/wind power! We never have fresh air in this nasty city I live in--if it's not the one neighbor's cigarettes, it's the other neighbor's stupid fireplace. Unacceptable unless all power is out in the dead of winter! I wish I were only renting. We have the house for sale, hopefully in summer no one will notice the horrible air quality from 2 doors down.
My neighbor is an unrepentant wood burner. He even burns on spare-the-air days.
It's going to be sunny and warm in CA today. High of 78'. All of my windows are open, and I'm now getting more wood smoke. I don't think this guy will ever quit.
I totally agree--I HATE the smell of smoke from FPs coming in my house. And yes, it happens A LOT. My house is sealed tight and we hate to go outside or even open the doors because of the smoke, but because our heat pump is outside and draws the air to heat our home, the smoke smell seeps in still! It's disgusting. I definitely think Fireplaces burning wood, etc. should be banned in residential areas! Especially with idiots like my neighbors who burn anything--I know sometimes they even burn treated wood, wet wood, plastic, anything in their fireplace! Heck no, freeze to death or get gas/electric/solar/wind power! We never have fresh air in this nasty city I live in--if it's not the one neighbor's cigarettes, it's the other neighbor's stupid fireplace. Unacceptable unless all power is out in the dead of winter! I wish I were only renting. We have the house for sale, hopefully in summer no one will notice the horrible air quality from 2 doors down.
My in-laws live in a neighborhood where practially everyone has (and uses) a woodburning fireplace. Never, ever have I smelled smoke inside their house, just a very faint, pleasant smell outdoors in some spots. Are you and your neighbors right on top of each other? I mean, to smell their cigarettes....
My in-laws live in a neighborhood where practially everyone has (and uses) a woodburning fireplace. Never, ever have I smelled smoke inside their house, just a very faint, pleasant smell outdoors in some spots. Are you and your neighbors right on top of each other? I mean, to smell their cigarettes....
I was wondering about that. I live in a 1930's house that is, let's face it, insufficiently insulated. Plus we leave the transom open this time of year quite a lot, since we don't have to have the AC on much. Yesterday, the smoke from the agricultural fires in Mexico (hundreds of miles away - we live north of Austin) was causing the annual haze and smoke smell all over the area, even got in the news with photos of the haze, and I didn't notice until I opened the door and stepped outside.
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